Date: October 2, 2026
Reporter: Emilly Jordan
Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who was stabbed by his co-pilot aboard a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, has described to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi how he managed to open the cockpit door while injured and under attack, allowing passengers and other crew members to intervene and help prevent the aircraft from crashing.
Machchhar spoke to Modi from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi during a video call released Friday by the Indian prime minister's office. Wearing bandages on his head and hands and with a medical tube visible in his nose, Machchhar became emotional as he recounted the moments when he realized the aircraft was rapidly losing altitude.
“I knew that the aircraft was going down ... I had fallen to the ground. I told myself that the door is right there, just open it. I managed to do it and people entered,” Machchhar told Modi.
The incident occurred Wednesday aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 people on board, according to Reuters. The aircraft plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds after the co-pilot allegedly attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit.
Machchhar said he had been flying for 17 years and had worked as a captain for 11 years. His experience allowed him to understand immediately that the aircraft was in serious danger when he found himself on the cockpit floor.
“I have been flying for the last 17 years, have been a captain for the last 11 years. I knew that the aircraft was going down,” he said.
Despite his injuries, Machchhar said he understood that he had to act because the lives of everyone aboard the aircraft were at risk. In another part of the conversation with Modi, he explained that he was fighting for his own survival but also realized that he could not allow the passengers to die.
The captain's decision to open the cockpit door became a crucial moment in the emergency. Once the door was opened, passengers and crew members entered the cockpit and helped overpower the co-pilot. A second pair of Flydubai pilots who were traveling aboard the aircraft then helped take control of the plane.
The aircraft was eventually diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it made a safe emergency landing. Saudi authorities later transferred the injured pilots to the United Arab Emirates after they received medical treatment and were cleared to travel. Machchhar was subsequently taken to Abu Dhabi, where he continued recovering in hospital.
The flight's emergency began when the co-pilot, whom Israeli officials identified as an Omani national, allegedly stabbed Machchhar during the flight. The aircraft then experienced a dramatic loss of altitude while traveling over Saudi Arabia. Israeli officials said passengers and crew members intervened after the cockpit door was opened.
The co-pilot's motive remains under investigation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israeli authorities believed the co-pilot had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and appeared to have intended to bring down the aircraft. Netanyahu stressed that the investigation was continuing and that final conclusions had not yet been reached.
The United Arab Emirates has also launched an investigation into the incident, including efforts to establish the circumstances, motive and whether there was any terrorist connection or prior planning. Saudi Arabia said its preliminary investigation found that the co-pilot had assaulted the captain, forcing the emergency landing in Tabuk.
Israeli and Indian officials have publicly praised Machchhar for his actions. Modi told the injured pilot that his courage, presence of mind and actions had helped save lives. Machchhar, who is from Gujarat, also told the prime minister that he prayed to the Hindu deity Hanuman during the ordeal.
Machchhar's account provides a more detailed picture of how the emergency unfolded from inside the cockpit. Israeli officials had previously said that the wounded captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker. The captain's own account confirms that he deliberately made the effort to open the door while he was injured and under attack.
The incident has prompted renewed scrutiny of aviation security, particularly the risks posed by threats originating from within an aircraft's cockpit. Israel has said it would tighten checks on pilots operating flights into the country following the incident.
The Flydubai aircraft ultimately reached safety, but the episode left passengers facing an extraordinary emergency in which the captain, despite being injured, managed to create an opportunity for others to intervene. Machchhar's account to Modi offered his first detailed public description of those critical moments and underscored the sequence of decisions that allowed passengers and additional crew members to regain control of the aircraft.